Word of Salvation – Vol. 44 No.14 – April 1999

 

He is Risen!

 

An Easter Sermon by Rev J.A. Haverland on Mark 16:1-8

Scripture Readings: 1Corinthians 15:1-22; Matthew 28

 

Congregation.

Some stories have sudden endings.  You are watching a movie on TV and you are right into the story and then suddenly it stops, and you're surprised – you expected more.  Or you're reading a novel and you seem to come to an abrupt end; the story is left hanging in the air.

When you come to the end of Mark's gospel you are left with the same impression.  You'll notice that verses 9-20 are marked off and most Bibles have a note explaining that these verses are not in the earliest manuscripts of this gospel.  It seems as though Mark concluded his gospel at verse 8 but an early scribe thought it didn't end well and added these extra verses, basing what he wrote on the other gospels.

Now you don't have to lose confidence in your Bible because there are only very few parts of the Bible where there is some doubt about the reliability of the text and these parts are clearly indicated.

It is possible that Mark wrote some more verses to this gospel to round it out a bit more, but if that was so, then they have been lost in the providence of God this gospel has come to us as it is, and it concludes at verse 8, which makes it a sudden ending.

This fits with the general style of this gospel; Mark moves quickly from one event to another.  In fact, one of the frequent words in Mark is the word "immediately".  Jesus did this and he immediately went on to do that.  In the same way the gospel comes to immediate end!

Mark leaves his gospel open-ended because wants us to respond to what he has written.  He wants to know what we think of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and how we will act in response.  We'll come back to this a little later.

As we look at this resurrection account, the first thing we should notice is that Jesus really died...

1.  HIS DEATH WAS REAL

The women who were on their way to the tomb on that Sunday morning had seen Jesus die.  Mark makes special mention of these women in his account of the death of Jesus.  In chapter 15:40 he says, “Some women were watching from a distance", and in vs.41 that “Many other women were there."  In chapter 15:47 he notes that Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body of Jesus was laid.

Early on Sunday morning three of these women made their way to the tomb (16:1).  They were carrying spices so they could anoint his body.  The Jews didn't embalm bodies as the Egyptians did; they were taking spices so the body wouldn't smell so much.

As they went they were discussing how they were going to get into the tomb because they had watched as a very large stone had been rolled in front of the entrance; a stone the size of a cartwheel which had been rolled into a groove or a slot in the ground.  They knew it would be very difficult for them to move.

All this is worth noting because liberal scholars have come up with various explanations about the resurrection.

One is that Jesus did not actually die – he was unconscious and came to while in the tomb.  But his does not fit with the facts.  These women had seen his agony on the cross, heard him cry out just before his death, watched him take his last breath, had seen him die, had watched as the Roman soldier thrust his spear into Jesus' side and seen the blood and water come out; they had seen his body taken off the cross, wrapped up in linen and then placed in a tomb.  They knew he had died.

The other explanation is that the disciples wanted Jesus to rise and expected him to do this, and so, in their minds, he did rise!  In other words, the stories about the resurrection were the result of wishful thinking.

But again this does not fit with the gospel accounts.  The disciples did not expect Jesus to rise.  In fact, the resurrection of their Lord was beyond their wildest dreams; it was the last thing they would have thought of.  So this was not the result of wishful thinking, it was not a story made up by the early church.  No, this had to be revealed to them, made known by God, explained.

Secondly we notice that:

2.  HIS RESURRECTION WAS REVEALED

The women arrived at the tomb, and were surprised – even shocked – to see the stone was rolled away, and went in.  Tombs in those days had an entrance chamber, then a small doorway less than a metre high which went through into the burial chamber itself, which was about two metres square.

They went into this burial chamber and noticed a young man in a white robe on the right side.  Notice the detail.  The women told Peter what had happened and Peter told Mark who wrote it all down.  This young man was an angel.  We know this because he gave them a message from Christ.

The angel explained the facts: "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene who was crucified."  The angel was very specific – he identifies Jesus as being from Nazareth, which was in Galilee, which was also where these women had come from – they were Galileans – they knew Jesus well.

The reference to Galilee also emphasises the humanity of Jesus – he was a man who grew up and lived in a certain place.  Moreover, he was crucified – he died and he was laid in this tomb.

You see, it was unlikely, but possible, that the women had the wrong tomb – but that wasn't the case.  They were looking for Jesus of Nazareth and this is where he had been.  But he wasn't here anymore – He had risen!

The angel reveals this to the women – He has risen!  This is the most astounding and dramatic claim of the Christian faith!  That Jesus who died also rose from the dead.  This is a miracle!  This is the most remarkable event that can happen!  That someone who was dead should then come to life.

The resurrection proves the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ - it proves that he was the Son of God with power!  It proves that he died for the sins of his people and that God accepted his sacrifice for sins.

The resurrection also gives the Christian faith meaning, truth and hope.  If Christ has not been raised, then there would be no point to meeting here today; we might as well pack up and go home.  "If Christ has not been raised", says the Apostle Paul, "we of all men are most to be pitied."

But Christ has been raised.  "He is risen" the angel told the women.  The angel explained the facts, revealed the truth, and then: He displayed the evidence: “See the place where they laid him."  The rock shelf was empty.  The body of Jesus had gone!

They did not have the wrong tomb – this is where Jesus had been.  The body had not been stolen – Matthew’s gospel tells us that a guard had been posted to prevent that.  Jesus had not simply been unconscious and woken up and walked out – he had really died.  His body had been there, dead – but he had risen!  The angel had seen him rise and was telling them!

Thirdly we notice that:

3.  THIS REQUIRES A RESPONSE

We can't just walk out of here as though nothing has happened.  We can't say, "Well, that was an interesting story; how nice that Jesus rose."  No there must be some reaction!

There was certainly some reaction in these women – they were alarmed!  That's the word used at the end of vs.5.  This word only appears in this gospel and it is used only four times.  Two of those references are here in verses 5 and 6.  This is a very strong word.  It is translated in various versions as amazed, astonished, dumbfounded, frightened!

In verse 8 we see more of their reaction.  They were “trembling and bewildered".  The Greek word for bewildered is ekstasis, which literally means “to be beside oneself", or "out of existence".  They were scared out of their wits.  They fled from the tomb in terror and confusion.

This is consistent with the reaction others had to Jesus during his ministry.  Mark makes a special point of describing these responses:

• When Jesus stilled the storm on the sea of Galilee the disciples were alarmed!
• When he cast the demons out of the man called Legion they were amazed and frightened.
• When he came to the disciples walking on the water they were filled with fear.

There ought to be something of that in our reaction to Jesus.  We are often too casual, too indifferent about the Lord and even about the resurrection.  We know the story so well that we are a little "ho-hum" about it all.

But we need to stop and think about this, we need to recognise the mystery and awesomeness of the resurrection of Christ.  This is the most astounding event that has taken place in the history of the world!  It is right to be startled, awestruck, astonished, alarmed!

But we need more!  There should be awe but also action.

"Go and tell!” the angel said to the disciples.  "Tell his disciples, and Peter."

Notice the compassion of Jesus here; he makes a special mention of Peter.  After denying his Lord, Peter especially needed to know that Jesus was alive and wanted to see him.

At first the women were too terrified to say anything.  But we know from the other gospels that they soon got over that and hurried on to tell the disciples.  We also know that those early Christians told the whole world about the Lord.

We need to do this as well.  This isn't something to keep to ourselves; this good news is for sharing – the world needs to know!  People must be told.  So look for and pray for opportunities to do this – to be a witness of what you know about Jesus and that he is alive today.

These women had to act on what they had been told.  That took faith.  They had not yet seen Jesus but they had to go and tell others.  They had to act in faith, believing the word of the angel and the word of the Lord Jesus, because this is what Jesus had told them.

We, too, need to live by faith.  We haven't actually seen Jesus.  But we have this testimony in the Bible – we have the Word of God, the Scriptures, this witness about Jesus.  We need to believe Jesus and His Word.

Jesus did die – His death was a reality.  But he rose – this is what the angel told the women.  But this demands a response.

This is why Mark concludes his gospel suddenly.  He ends abruptly because he wants us to do something with this – he wants a reaction!

He wants a response like the women: of awe, wonder, amazement, even fear!

But he also wants action!  He wants us to tell others about the amazing things we have come to know.  He wants us to live by faith in Jesus and in His Word.

Amen.